Mars

As one of the five planets that can be seen in the night sky without the aid of a telescope, Mars has been a source of fascination for millennia. What is it about this dusty, dry world that has captured our imaginations so completely? Astronomer Patricia Skelton investigates our relationship with Mars, beginning with the earliest observations and the curious conundrums they generated and ending with our ambitious plans for future space missions. She explores how the Red Planet helped solve the mysteries of planetary motion, sparked furious debates about the possibilities of other life in the Solar System, became an early target of space exploration and has since been a testing ground for remarkable new technologies. Over the past 60 years, Mars has played host to a succession of spacecraft, landers and rovers that continue to expand our knowledge and have also inspired us to venture further. As we look to the future, how long will it be before astronauts join them on the distant planet’s surface?